


The word that binds

by shamebucket



Category: Original Work
Genre: Budding Love, Mutual Pining, Other, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shamebucket/pseuds/shamebucket
Summary: Briar is stumped while working on their latest novel, and gets a little unexpected help.
Relationships: Original Non-Binary Character/Original Non-Binary Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: It's All in the Name (Take #1)





	The word that binds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlespaceposts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlespaceposts/gifts).



The dark of night has long since seeped in through the windows of Briar's bedroom, but still they remain at their computer, the blue light of their desktop computer keeping them up far past their bedtime. There's too much work to be done, there's deadlines to meet, there's food to keep on the table. They run a hand through their thick, dark hair and sigh, leaning back in their swivel chair. They've been at this for hours, due to a slow start this morning, and feel like they've hit a road block. "Ugh." They don't want to admit defeat just yet, but it's pretty hard to ignore that they've been stalled for over an hour now. They've made their bed, swept the floor, brewed some tea... and nothing has changed. Their word count remains stagnant. 

Desdemona is as trapped as Briar is. Ze isn't the main character, although Briar sometimes wishes that ze was. They have a soft spot for zir. Zir predicament is dire, zir obstacles are plentiful. Briar knows they need to get zir out of there, pronto. It's bad. The antagonists are after zir, and it doesn't look like ze has any way to escape them. However, Briar knows that ze needs to live - ze has an important role at the end of the story, a twist that Briar is hoping won't be obvious to most of the readers. This is the second book in the series, and nobody has guessed on the forums that Briar sometimes looks at. (They know it's bad, but they can't help it. People have crazy theories sometimes. Briar knows what path they want to take, roughly, but it's fun looking at how people interpret stray details.) 

That said, Briar's convinced that Desdemona can handle it. Ze's got a solid head on zir shoulders, and ze can get through anything, even when things don't seem to be going zir way. Briar, on the other hand, wants to crumple under the pressure of getting this book finished on time. 

It's no use. Briar won't make any more progress tonight, and it's gotten late. Sighing, they power down their computer, brush their teeth, put on a satin bonnet, and get into bed. Maybe a fresh look at their manuscript in the morning will shed new light on the subject. They pull the plush, downy comforter over their nose and fluff their pillow before wriggling into a comfortable position, listening to their own breathing slow as they drift off to sleep. 

\-- It's raining. Water pelts Briar's face, splashing their glasses and staining their bright yellow T-shirt to goldenrod. They look around, trying to figure out where they are. It's a city that they've never stepped foot in, but know intimately. Each building is lined with neon lights, illuminating each metal surface. They tap their chin. Ah. _This_ is where they are. They ponder their options for a moment. 

"Briar!" A rich, smooth voice calls out to them in the half-dark, although its tone is urgent. A warm hand grasps onto theirs. "Don't just stand there. Let's get out of here!" Before Briar can even comprehend what's happening, they are running hand in hand with another person. Ze is taller than Briar and is exquisitely beautiful, zir long, chestnut hair flowing behind zir as they sprint through alleys, along the street, onward through the pouring rain. 

Briar doesn't tire at all, even though they never run this much when they're awake. "Desdemona, where are we going?" 

"Anywhere but here!" Zir hand clutches onto Briar's tightly. They are lightning-fast, running at least 20 blocks before Desdemona slows down. Finally, they duck into a bar. "This is a temporary solution," ze says softly. The bar is half-full, with many different kinds of people milling about as patrons. Briar raises an eyebrow and watches. Desdemona sighs. "Are you even _listening_ to me?" 

"Hm? Yeah, of course." They clear their throat. "We're fucked, is basically what you're telling me." 

Desdemona rolls zir eyes. "Only because you don't see what I see. Look," ze says, pointing to the back of the bar. An open door is barely visible behind a wall of people, bright yellow light shining through. "You're so caught up in the little details that you don't see _that_."

There are lots of little details that Briar wants to get lost in. The way Desdemona's jeans are about two sizes too big for zir, the buttons on zir leather jacket, some ancient acne scars on zir cheeks and chin. A scar splitting zir right eyebrow in half. "I guess you're right," Briar says. 

This is a dream, and Briar knows it, so it's not that weird when Desdemona snorts and pats their cheek. "You're an idiot sometimes, and you really need to stay focused," ze says, "but I kinda like that you see the small stuff." 

Briar blinks and looks over at the grizzled looking woman at the bar. She oozes details. "You know her story, Des?" 

Ze laughs. "No, but _you_ do, apparently, even if you don't need to. Just streamline it, she's a bit character! You're going to keep yourself trapped here at this rate. Let's go!" Without letting Briar respond, (all words are trapped in Briar's throat, anyway,) Desdemona holds onto Briar's hand and never lets go, rushing them forward into the light. 

Briar squeezes zir hand back and leans against zir shoulder. "I think I know, now." 

"What is it, Mx. Persnickety?" 

"It's that I -- "

\-- The light through the window lands on Briar's eyelids and it wakes them up too early, after what feels like too-short four hours. They groan and roll over. That dream was nice, although it was just getting to the point where they could figure out a way to write themselves out of that hole. The answer evaporates as they wake up. 

A firm hand rubs Briar's back. "Finally waking up, sleepyhead?" Briar jolts up. Desdemona raises an eyebrow at them, confused. "Did I mess up? I'm not used to this whole, uh, thing... as you know," ze says, chewing zir lip. 

Briar stares at zir, and then smiles. "You know... I think there's a lot I don't know about you, even if I loved you from the first word you spoke." 

"Huh." Ze leans zir cheek against zir palm. Briar is deeply enamored at the way that zir skin bunches along zir cheekbone, how zir lips pout slightly. "I thought you were supposed to know everything about me." 

"Was this your escape, Desdemona?" 

Ze shifts zir gaze off to the side. "Well... yeah... look, I had to improvise, okay?" 

"I never would have done this on my own." Briar holds zir hand, and ze looks down at them, expectant. "So no, I don't." 

Desdemona squints zir eyes slightly, but ends up smiling. "Guess we gotta figure out how to get ourselves in a better place together, huh?" 

"Seems so." Briar leans up and sighs as they touch foreheads. The deadline isn't for another few weeks. They'll get out of it, somehow. With Briar's attention to detail and Desdemona's problem-solving, there is no challenge that they can't beat together. Desdemona nuzzles against Briar's cheek, and Briar is ready to toss all of their planned stories for Desdemona aside. This is much better than anything they could have planned for zir.


End file.
